Retired President Ali Hassan Mwinyi has implored the need for people of Uganda to exercise their right of voting for an efficient leader to rule their country.
Mwinyi who is the head of the East African Community (EAC) Election Observation Mission (EOM) was speaking in Kampala on Friday at the official launch of the EAC Election Observation Mission to the 2016 General Election in Uganda.
EOM arrived in Uganda last week on invitation by the Ugandan government and in line with relevant provisions of EAC Election Treaty to monitor the election scheduled for Thursday, to leave the country three days later on February 21.
They are expected to issue a statement of their preliminary findings of the elections on Saturday, February 20 in a press conference, for the release of a final and comprehensive report through its policy organs after the end of the electoral process, said Mwinyi.
The team comprises 50 short-term observers drawn from the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), National Human Rights Commissions (NHRC), Electoral Management Bodies, Civil Society, EAC Youth Ambassadors and officers from the EAC Secretariat.
Mwinyi’s team was preceded by a team of election experts from the EAC Partner States who arrived on January 30, to mainly observe the concluding stages of the campaign process and engage with various stakeholders as well as observe the voting and counting processes on February 18.
“In its assessment of the electoral process, I would like to highlight that the EAC Election Observation Mission will be guided by the democratic principles and values outlined in the African Charter for Democracy, Elections and
Governance and the EAC Principles for Election Observation and Evaluation,” Mwinyi said.
Assessment of the electoral process in Uganda will be carried out in an impartial and objective manner, informed by the principles and guidelines stipulated in the standards as well as the legal framework governing the conduct of elections in the country, said the former Tanzanian President.
“On this day, we are deploying a total of 17 teams of EAC observers in various regions of Uganda to assess the level of preparedness of the elections and the polling process,” he said.
EOM arrived in Uganda last week on invitation by the Ugandan government and in line with relevant provisions of EAC Election Treaty to monitor the election scheduled for Thursday, to leave the country three days later on February 21.
They are expected to issue a statement of their preliminary findings of the elections on Saturday, February 20 in a press conference, for the release of a final and comprehensive report through its policy organs after the end of the electoral process, said Mwinyi.
The team comprises 50 short-term observers drawn from the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), National Human Rights Commissions (NHRC), Electoral Management Bodies, Civil Society, EAC Youth Ambassadors and officers from the EAC Secretariat.
Mwinyi’s team was preceded by a team of election experts from the EAC Partner States who arrived on January 30, to mainly observe the concluding stages of the campaign process and engage with various stakeholders as well as observe the voting and counting processes on February 18.
“In its assessment of the electoral process, I would like to highlight that the EAC Election Observation Mission will be guided by the democratic principles and values outlined in the African Charter for Democracy, Elections and
Governance and the EAC Principles for Election Observation and Evaluation,” Mwinyi said.
Assessment of the electoral process in Uganda will be carried out in an impartial and objective manner, informed by the principles and guidelines stipulated in the standards as well as the legal framework governing the conduct of elections in the country, said the former Tanzanian President.
“On this day, we are deploying a total of 17 teams of EAC observers in various regions of Uganda to assess the level of preparedness of the elections and the polling process,” he said.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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